Survey finding
Cladding issues flagged in your survey
Cladding on flats became one of the biggest buyer risks in UK property following Grenfell. This page explains what an EWS1 form is, what remediation status means for your mortgage, and what to ask the seller and your solicitor before you commit.
Last updated: .
Finding
Cladding issues
What this usually means
Cladding issues on residential buildings became a major concern following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. Aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, certain HPL panels, and other combustible systems were widely used on high-rise and some mid-rise buildings. Subsequent government and developer remediation programmes have addressed many buildings, but not all. The Building Safety Act 2022 set new frameworks for leaseholders.
Why it matters
Uncertified cladding can make a flat unmortgageable and unsaleable until remediation is complete and an EWS1 form or equivalent is obtained. Service charges can spike if remediation costs fall on leaseholders. The legal position has shifted over time and varies significantly between buildings and developers.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Can you confirm the external wall system type and whether any surveys or certificates have been completed for this building?
- Check:Has the building been through the Developer Remediation Contract or any government scheme?
Ask the seller
- Check:Has the building had a cladding assessment and is there an EWS1 form or equivalent certificate for the building?
- Check:Has remediation work been completed, is it in progress, or is it pending?
Next steps
- •Ask your solicitor to obtain full building safety information including any EWS1 form, developer agreements, and remediation status before exchange.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker, as many lenders require an EWS1 A1 or A2 rating before lending on flats in multi-storey blocks.
Tool shortcut
Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewCross-check this finding with EPC, building age, and address-specific risk data.
Run the check on this address
The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewRead next
EWS1 form required , often sits near cladding issues on a survey and is the next thing to check.
House survey cost UK , what a Level 2 and a Level 3 actually cost in 2026, and Level 2 vs Level 3 , what each level does and does not cover. Not every finding here is something a surveyor assesses — some are a conveyancer's search — and the comparison says which is which.
How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying: we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice: we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice: we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.